Harvesting machine



Sept. 17. 1940. H. D. HUME ET AL HARVESTING MACHINE 2 sheets-sheet 1 Filed Aug 16, 1938 l James E. Love SnvmtorS Cittorneg Sept. 17, 1940. H. D, HUME ET A1.'

v HARVESTING MACHINE Filed Aug. 16, 195e 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I- a s K *f vl0 b. N v N N Y H ro Q m 'm 'o at, m m 1. IL

I vlllgglgzaa-IHI Horace D. Hume s James E. Love mnntors l(Itrtomeg latemuiSe-pt.17,1940` -f as PATENT*carlosn savnsrlNG MACHINE filone ey D. Hume and James Y Garleld, Wash.

l Application Angustia, reas, sei-iam. zz 5,1o3

4 wiss-z3) of the' count'erbalanced frame,

4Our present invention relates to'improvementsvin harvesting-machines' and' speciiically to' anA lequalized or counterbalance'd-trame thatis'em- "ployed 1 between 'f aA .farm-tractor and a harvester 5 or' otherv vagricultural implement that is operated 'by a power take-oi! from'the tractor, and rtherefore we do not limit they adaptation f. our {in- `vention to 4rharvesting machines. Y

v For 'convenience of illustrationi'we have-ishown our invention as a counterbalancejd`support for a harvester employing.ai.front centrai'reciprocating cutterof the sickletype, anfoverheatl"ro-v tary reelf'for passing the crop1to`the'cutter,"an`d 4a draper or endless `tconveyer extendingJ transversely of the implement Iordisposingof the ct crop, and this support or counterbalanced frame Y is attached to the tractor that`-l is' arranged at the` so ative position, as `i'or purposesofftransportation.

Our invention consists in icertain novel vcom-l binations and arrangements ofk parts betweenrthe farm-tractor and the implement as'will-,herein-W after be more fully set forth andclaimed; Iny the accompanying drawings wehave'illustrated onef 'completev example of the physicalyembodiment ofourinvention whereintheparts are'combined... is taken from the powershaft Plot the tractor;

and arranged in accordancewith onemodeiwe have devised forthe practical application 0I the principles of our invention, but it willbef understood that changesA and 'alterationsmay-ibe r I rlade vinthese exempliiying/structuresrwithin.the s cope of ourfclaima'without v`fremtljive"prin'- ciples oi' the invention.

Figurelisa viewin side elevation `ci"r a tractoroperated harvesting implement in. which. our in,- vention is'embodied, the near front drive wheel `ot the tractorbeing omitted Ior.. conv'enience of illustration;

, Figure 2 is atop yplan view of .the

l 0 1 Figure ljwith the rotary reelfomitifed.` f vFigure 3 ,isasectional detail view-of one of the duall brakes voi' vthe .tractor that ,may be. employedl in rsteering and-maneuveringe'theimplementl Figure 4 is an enlarged, detai l, planvlcw 0f -nected `to` the f iront left side ot the implement in Figure?. f

` In order that the general'` assembly "and arrangement of partsmayreadily be understood we have illustrated a typical farmftractor as T l as at the with the pair of frontk drive wheels D and the rear steering wheels W, the front wheels being spaced wide apart vwith a broad tread to accommo- "datej the attachment of the implement that is mounted in front 'or the tractor. The tractoris H equipped with a seat lS located in position for ready access bythe driver to the gear shift lever L, and the 'steering lever A that is connected in usual manner to the rear steering wheels W, W.

y'I "he usual brake pedals'B and B' are located l' atthe opposite 'sides of the clutch brake C, and,

these brake pedals are manipulated for opent- .ing the brakesoi the two drive wheels D, D, 'so

that, in addition to the use Aof the steering wheels W, W, the' implement maya'lsov be maneuvered l and steered with the brakes;`v One of thebrake devices is illustrated in Figure 3, in vconnection with the front axle I ofthe tractor, where the brake drum! and vbrake band 3 are enclosed- 'within the'hou'sing l. By means of 'the' toggle I il connectingthe ends of the brake band, with the lever Cl and link 1,.' which is connected with a brake pedalB',` the brakesare applied against ltension of the return spring l. The brake pedjals B B'y are rigidly secured to an alined pair of l tubular rock Ashafts 9 that 'are mounted upon .a supporting axle vrIfwhich extends .transvers e:ly.r v

of thek tractor,l and, levers il are pivotally conends of-thefiinks'l to operate the brakes. I v f" f Power for theoperatins theharvt'ester "which is' provided with atake dgear` G. a takeron' clutch lever v0 being manipulated in connection with a. suitable clutch for this Inythe present exempliilcation of our inven-v tion ah'arvester is mounted in front of the tractor andextends transversely thereof. As indicated,

' this harvester includes a recilluco'cating cutter or `may readllybe attached to and detached from they counterbalanced frame that is supported from beneath the tractor and between the two front driving wheels.

The counterbalanced frame of the attachment includes a pair of side bars I2 and I3, which, as indicated in Figures l and 2, at their rear ends are bolted to an attaching plate I4 that is rigidly fixed transversely to an under portion of the tractor. These side bars diverge outwardly toward the front of the tractor, and then extend in parallelism longitudinally of the tractor between the two driving wheels D, D. The wheels are spaced apart to approximately the width of the harvester, by means of extension members within the transmission housing ofthe tractor, thus accommodating the side bars, and also stabilizing the whole implement so that it may operate on a steep side hill without tendency todrift or tilt laterally. s l

At their front ends these side bars terminate in down-turned supports or hangers I5, and'eachA of these hangers is fashioned with an inwardly projecting stub axle, or trunnion I5', upon which a tubular rock-shaft I6 is mounted and extends transversely Aof the implement. This tubular rock shaft is resiliently held against turning or rocking clock-wise by means of two equalizing springs I8, I8 extending horizontally beneath the tractor and adjustably anchored at their rear kends I9, by bolts and nuts, to the attaching .plate I4. At their forward or front vends these springs are pivotally connected by links 20 to two balance leverarms 2|, 2I rigid with the tubular Vrock. shaft.

Another pair of levers or supporting arms 22 forming part of the resilient support for the harvester, are rigidly mounted near the ends of f the tubular shaft I1, and as indicated in Fig. l

these supporting armsdecline forwardly when the harvester is supported or suspended` in working position. At their free front endsthese supporting arms are coupled, each by a sleeve 23 with other parts of the counterbalanced frame. These coupling sleeves lare pivoted in the arms on pins 24, and `I -bolts 25 or coupling hooks are mounted in the sleeves and secured by `nuts 26 on the upper and the bolts. Y f

These hooked coupling bolts pass through holes in and are pivotally connected with a pairfof long longitudinally extending frame bars 21, to which the transversely extending harvester frame 28 is attached, as by angle plates 29, and thehooks provide a flexible, adjustable, coupling between the supporting arms 2 2 and the frame bars 21. The frame bars 21 extend rearwardly from the harvester frame beneath the` front parallel ends of the side bars I5, land the rear ends of the frame bars are pivoted at 30, each to a bracket-hanger 3| rigid with and depending from a side bar.

The harvesting implement is thus supported in Working position by the frame bars y2`I'., and the frame bars which carry the load are supported in part bythe counterbalancing or equalizing frame I2, 2|, 22,and the couplings to counterbalance the load of the harvesting implement and facilitate its adjustment to desired working position. V v

It will be noted that the front wheels D are the traction wheels and that .they are located directly at the rear of the harvesting machine and the added weight of the harvesting machine or other implement, is available to increase the lower threaded portion of tractive power of the tractorfront wheels. By the use of the counterbalancing frame for the implement, in additionr to imposing desirable weight on the tractive wheels, the counterbalanced frame not only relieves the rear steering wheels W of the weight of theA implement, but the frame also assists in relieving the steering wheels of some of they engine-weight, so that the steering wheels may be more readily manipulated. Thus the counterbalanced frame solves cient weight on the traction wheels to provide tractive force required; and also relieving the y` steering wheels of excess Weight that would interfere with the steering operations of the tractor.

Thepivots 30 at the rear ends of the frame bars 21 may be vertically adjusted in the brackethangers 3| by selecting one of the holes 3Ia arranged 'infvertical series in the hangers, thus providing a rough adjustment for the harvesting implement.

, The harvesting implement is-also precisely adjustable to working position ytoaccommodateit to varying conditions of the cropto be harvested,

Y as wellas for lifting or elevating it to inoperative position,bymanipulation of a large` handfwheel 32 ythat Ais journaledin framer33. y -l The wheel-frame 3 3. is located .above ,and at one side vof the-tractor in position for ready access' of the drver to the wheel, andthe `wheel bearings in thel `,wheely,is equippedwith a rack-wheel34 that meshes with a rack 35 on the upper end of anvadjusting v bar 3B :that extends downwardly and .at its lower endis pivotally connected, as at 31, with theA frame bars 21.v `The adjusting barils guided in itsmovement bysuitablev means, as a housing .38 mounted on the wheel-frame 33. By turning the hand-wheel the frame bars 21 are swung on their pivots 30 to elevate or lower the harvesting implement, and suitable means, as ahook and anchoring chain may-be employed to anchor the wheel to its frame.` Thev weight ofv the harvesting implement is counterbalanced'by the springs I8 and the equalizing yframe including thesupand passes over a sprocket wheel 42 on the longitudinally extending operating shaft 43 at the left side of the tractor. For operating the cutter and v the draper, a chain drive comprising a sprocket lwheel 44 on the shaft 43, chain 45, and a sprocket wheel' 46j on the cutter' shaft '41, is employed as f indicated inFigureZ. :For'operating the rotary reelfrom vthis transmission mechanism a chain drive lis indicated in Figure operating shaft 4 9.

1` at48 for the reel- A machine as thus -eescibed'amd iistr'lted is efiicient in the performance of its Vfunctions as itis under direct control ofthedrivenand it may be operated at unusually high [speeds to pass round obstructions, and to makeffast as well ais-short turns in harvesting the crop ina field. Such a machinejis capable of cutting crops such as alfalfa, peas, or beans, `especiallyr crops that lie.c1 ose to theground, at theA unusual speed of iive to iive and a half miles per hour. A swath is first cut along the edges of the eld 0r fences vand passed rinside the field to the standing crop, then the machine is reversed in its direction to cut a-second crop-swath and `deliver the crop from the first two swaths to the edge of the field from which the first swath was cut, after which the cuttings may be removed. After this preliminary cutting the entire field crop is har- 1 use with a farm-tractor vested by the traveling implement that is first adiusted to proper working condition and then maneuvered with facility as described.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: j

i. In a counterbalanced supporting frame for having front traction wheels and rear steering wheels, and a farming implement, the combination with a pair of side barsl attached at their rear ends to the tractor front wheels', the combination with laterallyv spaced side tractor, and a resiliently-held pivotal support .y

bars iixed' at their rear ends to the mounted between the front ends of the side bars, of a. pair of: implement frame-bars pivotally mounted on their rear ends to vthe side bars at the rear of the traction wheels; a pair of supporting arms rigid with the support and coupled to the implement frame bars, and means for vertically adjusting the frame bars on their rear pivots. v

l 3. In a, counterbalancing frame for an implement located in front of a tractor having front traction Wheels and rear steering wheels, the combination with a pair of forwardly extending side .bars having their rearends xed tothe tractor and a depending bracket on reach side rbar adjacent the front wheels, and a pair of implement frame-bars having their rear ends pivoted on the brackets and their front ends supporting the implement, of a rocking member mounted bee tween and joining the front ends of the side bars, equalizing springs connecting said member with vthe tractor, a pair of supporting arms rigid with said lmember and loosely coupled to the frame-v bars, and means for vertically moving said frame bars to adjust the implement.v y

4. In a counterbalancing frame for an implement located in front of a tractor having front traction wheels and rear steering wheels, the combination with a pair of forwardly extending side bars fixed at their rear ends to the tractor, said bars having depending brackets adjacent the front wheels,r and inwardly projecting opposed trunnions at their front ends, of a pair of implement frame-bars pivoted at their rear ends to the brackets and supporting the implement at their front ends, a tubular shaft rotatable on said trunnions, forwardly projecting supporting arms rigid with the shaft and loosely coupled at their front ends tothe frame-bars, equalizing springs connecting the shaft with a part of the tractor, and means for vertically adjusting the frame vbars and implement.

, HORACE D. HUME.

JAMES E. LOVE. 

